Upon reviewing this list, I realized a couple of things. The first being that only three out of these ten games (Dust, Metro, and TFU 2), I played for the first time. The second, that most of these games, save for possibly Dust, are AAA games.

With the annual Steam Summer Sale looming overhead, it seems like a good time to break out of this rut. So I present to you my Steam Summer Sale Project.
Coinciding with the sale, I will be choosing one indie game to play every few days and then writing a short impressions piece on each one.

This is where I need YOU.

I would like suggestions on which indie games to play during this project. Of course, which games I'll actually play depends on what is available for sale, but all suggestions are appreciated. I'd also like to keep the price of the game at a maximum of $10.

I am very excited to broaden my game tastes and have few new experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise. Thank you all in advance for the suggestions, I can't wait to start playing!

Hey, guys! I'm Chrys and I'm a longtime reader of Destructoid and brand new blogger. I present to you today the song "One Love" which is based on the song "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. I sang and wrote the lyrics as an R&B style "I can Change" song. It was written as if the Xbox One is singing to gamers, pleading them to take him back.

This is the first time I've ever done anything like this and this is the first place to see it. I Used a VERY crude set-up and tried my best with the limited time and resources I had. I really hope you enjoy it and I'd love any feedback.

Yesterday Microsoft attempted to throw the negativity train into full reverse by removing most of the Xbox One’s required online features and used game barriers. How well that change of direction will resonate with consumers is still yet to be seen, but early reports lean toward “oh thank god!” While I tend to agree with that sentiment, I can’t help but feel disappointed.

With the Xbox One shedding its anti-consumer skin, the Playstation 4 suddenly looks less like the obvious choice and more like the safer choice. This turn of events means that while the next console generation will see a lot of new features, many things will remain the same. Microsoft did themselves a big favor by unshackling used games, and foregoing an online requirement, but personally, I wanted to see the next generation play out just as it was.

I’m reminded of the time before the 3DS and PS Vita’s launch, when both handhelds were priced at $250. Both systems had equally compelling launch lineups, but completely different strengths. Nintendo was marketing the 3DS on its glasses-free 3D technology, and Sony went with the “console experience on a handheld” angle for the Vita. By all accounts, it looked like Sony had a fighting chance against the only king of dedicated gaming handhelds. Then the 3DS launched, struggled, trimmed a few Jackson’s off the asking price, and suddenly the Vita looked comparatively expensive at $250.

Where this history lesson brings me is that for a brief moment, it seemed as though something different was going to happen in the dedicated handheld space. Change was in the air and I was ready to breathe it all in. Then, the 3DS dropped to $170 before the Vita could launch and suddenly I’m gasping for air, realizing this is just a rerun of the DS vs. PSP.

Pictured: All the Difference

So when the Xbox One was revealed with features completely radical and ambitious (as anti-consumer as they were), I see an opportunity for change. Yesterday however, Microsoft quashed my dream of a console generation completely different from the current one. Instead it seems I’m stuck watching reruns again.

By the end of E3, the majority of the gaming community had already sworn off Microsoft, and was eyeing f*cking Sony from across the room. But for every person reading a gaming blog or tweeting about E3, there were hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who were introduced to the next generation of consoles by Jimmy Fallon. They are the mainstream, and boy are they fickle.

On one hand, a representation of general gaming consensus; on the other, a representation of how small our demographic is.

Had Microsoft stayed the course and released an always-connected Xbox One, correctly marketing the console to the mainstream would have undoubtedly been top priority.
If Microsoft pulled it off, we would have been in store for the most unique generation in quite some time. All of the big three console manufacturers would be offering vastly different experiences across their platforms, at different price points, all with different online strategies. Exciting times.
Conversely, if Microsoft released the Xbox One to a world strangely immune to “All in One” mania, it would have served as a definitive message that there is no market for a console built around these policies.

Of course, this console war has yet to officially begin, and there are a great many things that could change before both the PS4 and the Xbox One are released this holiday.
Hopefully Microsoft and Sony haven't shown their entire hand just yet. As any console war veteran will tell you, a few years into a generation, nothing is ever the same as it was at launch.

Do you think the next generation of consoles will be more of the same or do you think its gonna get all Bob Dylan-y around here? I'd like to know!